Hoses mainly formed with a polyvinyl chloride resin (PVC) have been usually used because of their excellence in thermal moldability and low production cost. For example, there are known hoses comprising a hose wall and a hard wire reinforcement which is covered with a resin and united with the hose wall. The hose is produced by spirally winding a hard wire reinforcement covered with a PVC resin on a mandrel, covering the covered reinforcement with a tube of a soft PVC resin or spirally winding a tape of a soft PVC resin on the covered reinforcement to form a hose wall, and separating from the mandrel.
However, there have arisen global environmental problems in recent years, such as poisonous gases generated by burning PVC waste, an acid rain caused thereby and the fact that the PVC itself is considered as a carcinogen. Thus, there is a trend toward a restriction on the use of the PVC resin. Moreover, there have been problems in hoses made of PVC resins in that they are rather heavy and difficult to handle.